May the 4th be with you, Star Wars fans.
On this day, we celebrate all things related to the iconic George Lucas (now Disney-owned) film franchise, which debuted with Episode IV back in 1977 and has spawned six motion pictures to date, with a seventh due out this year.
In addition to being beloved by sci-fi film fanatics the world over, Star Wars has helped inspire a plethora of scientific and technological advances over the years. This year has been no exception (check out this Yoda-like image discovered in a 14th century manuscript), so on this unofficial international Star Wars day, redOrbit takes a look back at our favorites.
1. Child given 3D-printed Storm Trooper prosthetic arm
We kick things off in January with the heartwarming story of a child who was given a functional prosthetic arm modeled after that of a Stormtrooper. The boy, seven-year-old Liam Porter, was born without an arm, but received the unique prosthetic thanks to the wonders of 3D printing. It was even presented to him by the 501st Legion, a group of Star Wars cosplayers
2. Star Wars super fan building full-scale replica of The Millennium Falcon
One of the coolest Star Wars-related stories of the year was this video, which shows builder and uber-geek Chris Lee’s efforts to create a full-scale replica of Han Solo’s vessel, The Millennium Falcon. Lee started the project in 2005 (after completing a similarly-ambitious project, a lifesized R2D2 unit) as part of his goal to “understand how they made that universe come to life.”
3. Star Wars set now ‘way station for jihadists’
Okay, perhaps “favorite” does not apply to this one, but it certainly is newsworthy: in March, it was revealed that Tatouine, the real-life town in Tunisia was the inspiration for the home planet of both Anakin and Luke Skywalker, Tatoonine, had become a hotbed in the battle against ISIS. The conflict forced filming of Episode VII to be relocated to Abu Dhabi.
4. Catfish species named in honor of ‘Star Wars’ character
Also in March, we learned that a previously undiscovered species of catfish had been named the Peckoltia greedoi in honor of Greedo, the bounty hunter from Mos Espa who was killed by Han Solo in the Cantina during Episode IV. Images of fictional alien and the real-life creature, which is also known as the suckermouth armored catfish clearly show the resemblance.
5. Death Star-like laser destroys truck more than mile away
Finally, we end with a technological innovation inspired by the Dark Side, but one that will hopefully be used for good instead of evil: a powerful Death Star-like laser made by Lockheed Martin that is capable of disabling the engine of a vehicle from more than a mile way. Known as ATHENA, the ground-based, 30-kilowatt beam is enough to make Darth Vader proud.
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